On the 25th anniversary of the FBI’s siege on the Branch Davidian Church in Waco, Texas, the UPS driver who delivered guns to the compound is breaking his silence.
Larry Gilbreath, now retired, appears on a new 48 Hours special airing on CBS Friday, to talk about his experience with David Koresh and his cult in the early ’90s.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Gilbreath was a delivery driver at the time, and was one of the few people to enter the compound of Koresh’s cult on a regular basis.
When the FBI closed in on Koresh and his followers, it turned out that the packages Gilbreath had been bringing them had consisted largely of guns and ammunition.
“I’ve kept my story secret for 25 years,” Gilbreath says in the 48 Hours preview. “I didn’t want to take this to my grave.”
Koresh’s cult captivated America’s attention in 1993 when they refused to open their doors to the FBI. The so-called “Branch Davidian Church” maintained an armed stand-off with law enforcement for 51 days, the longest in U.S. history.
Koresh’s followers believed he was the second coming of Christ. Several of them appear in the trailer for the new special, sharing their experience with 25 years of perspective in between. Experts dive into the psychology of the man who conned a congregation into believing he was the son of God, and then turned them into a small army.
Koresh and 75 other people died by the end of the siege, including 18 children. Witnesses say Koresh was using his position as a deity within the cult to sexually abuse many women and girls in the compound, including some as young as 12 years old.
The special airs Friday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. ET.
